José Nieto Velázquez

{{Short description|17th-century Spanish courtier}}

File:Diego Velázquez 061.jpg

File:Meninas detail Don José Nieto Velázquez.jpg

José Nieto Velázquez was the King's Chamberlain (Felipe IV of Spain),{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chamberlain|title=Definition of CHAMBERLAIN|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-16}} during the 1650s, and he was also in charge of the royal tapestry works.

He is also the figure in the doorway in Diego Velázquez's painting Las Meninas. Although the focus of Las Meninas is highly debated, the vanishing point of the whole painting is José Nieto Velázquez as he stands in the staircase. More specifically, the crook of his arm is the exact vanishing point.{{Cite journal|last=Steinberg|first=Leo|date=1981|title=Velazquez' "Las Meninas"|journal=October|volume=19|pages=45–54|doi=10.2307/778659|jstor=778659}} He seems to be paused, one foot resting on a step while his weight is on his other leg on a different step. It is unknown if he is coming or going from the stairs.